Maryland's Wild Acres

Creating a Wild Backyard - Hummingbirds, Butterflies & Bees

Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds are not only beautiful-
they are fast! Their wing-beats have been measured at 200 per second.
Hummingbirds can hover and even fly backwards. This agility helps them to get
the necessary amount of nectar, small insects and water they need to sustain
themselves.

Planting tubular flowers like Bee balm or
Trumpet creeper will help attract hummingbirds. Nectar feeders will supplement
the diets of your neighborhood hummers. Use four parts water to one part sugar
to make a solution. Do not use honey. Boil the water, turn off heat, and then
add the sugar. Adding red dye to the solution is not necessary. Remember to
thoroughly clean feeders every three or four days and refill with fresh
solution.

There are over 350 species of hummingbirds worldwide. The Ruby-throated hummingbird is the only species that breeds in the eastern United States.They migrate here from Southern Mexico and Central America
every spring and return in the fall. Males normally arrive first and scout out
territories rich in food. Setting out feeders in late March will attract the
males to your area.

Leave feeders up through the fall months to
provide these migratory birds with food for their journey. Also, migrating birds
moving through the area will have a place to refuel.

Butterflies and Bees

Butterflies and bees can add a special grace to your garden and both play
an important ecological role in the reproduction of plants. Butterflies in
Maryland have evolved to make the most use of native plants. See the table below
for more information on plants for butterflies.

If you would like your garden to become a
butterfly "nursery", then you may want to include those plants that are used by
caterpillars. These plants are referred to as ‘host’ plants.

Bees are a great addition to any garden,
especially because they perform important roles in pollinating plants. About 30%
of the food we eat has been pollinated by a bee!

To provide butterflies and bees with water,
add about a quarter inch of sand to a large saucer, such as a clay flowerpot
liner. Add water until a quarter inch of water rises above the sand. Place a few
flat stones that rise above the water and others that just touch the surface.
This will allow insects to drink without drowning.

Flowers, flowers, flowers!

Hummingbirds, butterflies and bees come
to flowers to feed on the nectar that they produce. Iridescent hummingbirds,
glimmering in the sunlight as they dart from flower to flower, are a rewarding
sight for any wildlife gardener. A garden filled with flowers blooming at
various times from spring to fall may be visited not only by hummingbirds, but
also by a colorful assortment of butterflies, bees and nectar-eating moths.

There is a practical side to the color and
beauty of flowers and their nectar-eating visitors. Flowers use these animals to
transfer pollen to other flowers of the same kind. In this way, the hummingbirds
and insects play a vital role in the reproduction of many plants. The colors on
the animals serve to protect them from predators by camouflage or to warn
predators against their toxic nature.

Planting Tips

Have your soil tested. Contact the University of Maryland Soil Testing Lab, through your county extension office.

Choose your plants according to the recommendations made by your soil test results and your nurseryman.

Most plants that attract hummingbirds, butterflies and bees need lots of sun. Be sure to plant your garden where it can get the most sun.

Use little, if any, pesticides in the part of your garden meant for butterflies and bees. Try more natural means of pest control. Ladybird beetles (lady bugs), green lacewings, spiders and praying mantises are great at naturally controlling garden pests.

Use little, if any, herbicides. The native grasses and flowers that will grow in your garden in addition to your plantings will greatly benefit your butterflies and bees.

Don’t take whole native plants from the wild. Take seeds and cultivate them yourself if proper permission has been obtained. Plants growing in the wild are an important part of the natural community in which they are found.